Philippine Journal of Science
145 (3): 283-295, September 2016
ISSN 0031 - 7683
Date Received: ?? Feb 20??
Possible Effects of El Niño on Some
Philippine Marine Fisheries Resources
Amor M. Damatac II and Mudjekeewis D. Santos*
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute,
101 Mother Ignacia Street, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philipines
1
El Niño is the warm phase of extreme climatic phenomenon observed in the equatorial Pacific.
Over the past decades, frequent El Niño events have been observed and pose great threat to
biodiversity. Reporting mostly the effects from 1982-1983 and 1997-1998 events, El Niño affected
factors involved in ocean- atmospheric interactions such as sea surface temperature, salinity,
nutrient availability, precipitation rate, ocean currents, and tropical typhoons. The changes in
these factors influenced marine organisms leading to an increased phytoplankton biomass and
widespread coral bleaching, and possibly resulting to fish kills, occurrence of seaweed diseases
and threats to marine mammals. It affected pelagic fishes leading to migration or change in
catch production. The data in this paper raise concerns on the predicted impact of El Niño on
food security. Considering our susceptibility, key researchable areas must be implemented to
support management strategies that will mitigate the possible effects of El Niño in the country.
Keywords: El Niño, fisheries, Pacific Ocean
INTRODUCTION
The Philippines has been assessed as one of the most
vulnerable countries to the impacts of extreme weather
brought by climate change (Harmeling, 2010; Santos et
al., 2011). The direct effects of climate change occur
through alteration in the behaviour, morphology, and
physiology of individual organisms which cumulatively
leads to ecosystem regime shifts (Food and Agriculture
Organization 2000; Brierly & Kingsford 2009; Portner
& Peck 2010; Doney et al. 2012). Climate change is
projected to impact the marine sector and this scenario
poses great pressure to the livelihood and food security
among Filipinos especially those who live in coastal areas
where fishing is the primary source of livelihood.
*Corresponding author: mudjiesantos@yahoo.com
Fisheries is one of the drivers of Philippine economy being
an archipelagic country that has more water than land
(Yap 1999). To emphasize its importance, as of 2013, the
country ranked as the seventh largest producer of fish, 11th
largest producer in terms of aquaculture, and third largest
producer of seaweeds among the top producers in the
world (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2013a, 2013b).
Its contribution to the Philippine economy amounted to
some P 190 Billion pesos and employed more than 1.6
million fishing operators nationwide (Bureau of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources, 2012). It supplies different
commodity species such as tuna, small pelagics, tilapia,
milkfish, shrimp/prawn, crabs, cephalopods, shellfishes,
and seaweeds.
The Philippines, which lies in the Indo-West Pacific, has
been described as one of the world’s epicenters of marine
biodiversity (Carpenter & Springer, 2005) indicating that
the country is blessed with highly productive marine
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